by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Enjoyable, intimate, fun and informative were the words of the day at this year’s Realtor-Builder Luncheon held at Alltel Stadium.
The new venue in the West Club of Alltel Stadium offered folks a chance to mill around, visit booths, pick up freebies, eat when they wanted and even take in a little comedic relief with guest speaker David Werner, a political satirist, during two different show times during the event.
“I love this venue for the event because not only is it real cozy and brings everyone together. It’s like ‘old home week’ when you go to these things but it also has a continuity to it,” said Linda Sherrer, incoming president of the Northeast Florida Realtors Association and president of Prudential Network Realty. “The booths were set up well and it flowed well. I was a little concerned about having it on two floors that people wouldn’t get to both floors, but that was not an issue at all.
“When I walked around, the feedback I heard was ‘This is fun’.”
Amanda Dandy of Prudential Network Realty and Alayna Kimball of World Golf Village were the co-chairs of the event.
“The comments about the event have been great,” said Dandy. “The set up was a little hectic since it was a new venue and it was very windy outside, but they were happy that we are in a carpeted space.
“We were able to offer a much greater variety. People could eat when they liked or sit with whomever they liked. There was no major hassle over who sat where or which tables were reserved. We decided to do this because of popular demand. People wanted this; they wanted something different.”
The booths were set up on the second and third floor of the West Club of the Stadium, allowing the 1,100 guests to travel upstairs and back down as they pleased. A buffet was set up on the second floor with plenty of seating when guests were ready to eat.
“I was a very intimate setting that people really appreciated,” said Sherrer.
In recent years, the event has been held at the Osborn Center with a trade show in the morning and a sit-down luncheon at noon. People who attended had to hurry through the booths to get ready to attend the lunch. This year, everyone could take their time and enjoy every aspect of the event.
“In the previous years that I’ve attended, it was good, but this is so different,” said Andre’ Boutte’, president of the NEFAR who heard many of the same comments Sherrer did. “From the comments I received as people walked around I could tell people just had a great time. They liked the format and venue. They could sit down when they wanted and then get up and go look at some more booths in their own time. It was a lot more informal and they really enjoyed it.”
Of the 100 booths set up for the event, many vendors agreed that they saw a lot more traffic and had a lot more time to talk with the visitors.
“I think the set up is much better and it isn’t as crowded this year,” said Karen Jackson of Prosperity Bank. “There wasn’t as much room for people to walk around in the other venue.”
Pirates and parrots were visible at many booths in keeping with the “Selling Away” theme of the event.
“There was a lot more traffic this year and there seemed to be more people,” said Gary Lawrence of DiscoverTec. “By this time last year, the traffic had stopped and everyone had gone into the luncheon.”
In the booth decorating contest, all of the booths were evaluated on their creativity in bringing the theme to life.
There were parrots, boating themes, floating key chains and more to support the Selling Away theme.
Steve Williams, Boutte’ and Jacksonville Jaguars co-owner Delores Barr Weaver judged the booths and two booths in particular caught their eye.
The judges chose Palencia as the Grand Prize winner with a $2,000 check to Builder’s Care. The Palencia sales team of Pud English, Naomi Lumley, Nita Roberts and Lance Winter dressed up in pirate garb, decorated their booth like a pirate’s boat and donned everyone who visited their booth with a flashing parrot pin.
“I think there were a lot more Realtors here this year and a lot more participation,” said Lumley. “I think the booth contest got everyone excited. We started planning our booth as soon as we knew the theme. Everyone really got into it. It was just wonderful.”
Realty-Builder Connection won second place for a $500 check going to the Mayor’s Literacy Campaign for their hidden treasure and pirate boat theme.
Deborah Metzig and Jackie Lightsey of Bailey Publishing dressed as women pirates and had “pirates” join them at the booth. Every visitor to the booth could have their photo taken as they sat on a pirate’s lap.
“I think it was a wonderful event and this venue is a lot more intimate,” said Mark Sherman of Gibraltar Mortgage. “It allowed people to move around and get a lot done in a short period of time.”